May 18, 2010

Make me under

There is a well-known quote attributed to Coco Chanel… "when you leave the house, take something off." I think she was talking about being careful to avoid piling on an amount of jewelry and accessories to the point that makes us look crazy. I like to think of this as kindergartener's syndrome. When I was in kindergarten, I would try to wear no less than seven pieces of jewelry for any special occasion. Bracelets, rings, necklaces, pins, you name it. What I have learned since then is that less really can be more. Granted there will be times when you want to pile on the jewels and sometimes it works. But with anything, whether your clothing, accessories or home style...think what statement you are trying to make and focus on that. If you try to wear too many items or fill your home with too many things, all the competing statements will drown each other out. Or at least this is my experience.

I ran across this little gem at a yard sale recently and I think it perfectly expresses the important sentiment of less is more. In its original bedazzled state, this ‘arrangement’ did not look like something I would give a second glance to, but I could tell there might be something better hiding underneath all that plastic foolery.

Leon giving it a sniff…I can tell he isn’t yet convinced.

After pulling off all the silk floral business, a neat little twig birdhouse remains. Simple. Cute. A complete and total turn-around from how it used to look. And that’s what $2 and 10 minutes can get you ladies and gentlemen. I’m sure lots of people would have walked right by it, but to me this seemed like a great challenge. Sometimes the things we take away are much more important than the ones we try to add. I encourage all of us (me included) to be willing to let go of some things…we might be really happy with what is left behind.

Do you have any fabulous make-under stories of your own? Or maybe you collect twig birdhouses and would like me to send you this one! Comments, come one, come all!